1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the spatially targeted delivery of offers from suppliers to potential customers. It relates particularly but not exclusively to a method and system for managing the delivery of offers in response to requests for offers made by potential customers which are members of a spatial marketplace system.
2. Background of the Invention
Conventional marketing methods, which entail the distribution of promotional materials, generally involve a haphazard approach to determining the sector of the community to be targeted by a particular promotion. Advertising campaigns that rely on classified advertisements in newspapers and the placement of advertisements in magazines and periodicals are constrained in their geographic extent by predefined distribution routes and channels over which the advertiser has no control.
Undoubtedly, in many cases advertisers inadvertently market goods and services to individuals and households, which do not even reside in the same state or city where the advertised goods and services are offered. Whilst this is not an issue for businesses dealing in products that have universal appeal and are easily and inexpensively dispatched by mail such as books or CDs, it is a major problem for businesses that are inherently reliant on a local client base due to the nature of the goods offered, in the case of a hardware store for example, or because the business provides locally based services such as a take away food outlet.
The use of alternative advertising media such as catalogues distributed via mail drops and telemarketing, offers the advertiser a greater degree of control over the geographic extent of the distribution of promotional materials. However, the problem remains, that a large proportion of groups and individuals who are targeted in the random distribution of marketing materials, have little or no interest in the products or services on offer and are unlikely to turn out to be prospective customers.
The introduction of the Internet has revolutionised the manner in which business is conducted. The Internet enables users to browse and access information regarding products and services and electronically place orders to purchase the same, without any geographic restrictions. Due to rapid growth in the popularity of the Internet as a means of communication, the use of the Internet as a marketing tool has also gained prevalence.
The Internet makes it possible to transmit large quantities of information to a large number of people in a short time. These capabilities, combined with the low cost of communications over the Internet, make the Internet an attractive medium for advertisers. Electronic marketing via the Internet provides rapid and economical access to large numbers of prospective customers. However, a notable disadvantage of the Internet is that it does not provide a means for effectively identifying and targeting local customers and therefore does not provide a suitable marketing opportunity for businesses relying on a local customer base for trade.
Some examples of forms of electronic advertising via the Internet include distribution of unsolicited commercial emails (otherwise known as spam) and pop-up advertisements or website banner advertisements which appear on unrelated websites and usually have a direct link to the advertiser's website. The recipients of such advertising messages are not specifically targeted. In the case of website banner advertising, any individual viewing a particular website will be targeted by the promotion. For Internet users, these forms of unsolicited advertising are a constant source of annoyance and are usually simply ignored. For these reasons, the success rate of electronic marketing in this form is doubtful.
The randomized distribution of promotional material causes a high level of inefficiency at a significant cost to the advertiser. Advertisers are not able to successfully identify and target those sectors of the community that are most likely to respond to specific promotions. In addition, individuals and households have no influence over the advertising materials that they receive and may become exasperated at the amount of unsolicited junk mail delivered to them.
The discussion of the background to the invention included herein is included to explain the context of the invention. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the claims.